The 1970s was a Golden Age for horror movies. Many of the so-called “classics” hail from the ’70s, and quite surprisingly, many continue to hold up well to this day. However, that’s certainly not always the case.
Like anything else, movies are known to age. What was scary in the 1970s may not be scary today, and what once passed for exceptional visual effects may not be as convincing fifty years later. On the other hand, some movies have held up exceptionally well. The topics still prove scary, the acting still proves convincing, and the visual effects have managed to transcend both time and the advance of technology.
10 Still Terrifying: Alien (1979)
Few movies from the 1970s have aged as well as Alien. Nothing about this movie has aged, and it is still every bit as scary and convincing today as it was back in 1979. The production design is impeccable, never feeling like a “cheap” or dated set from the late ’70s.
The acting is superb from everyone involved, and the visual effects remain both horrifying and convincing. The famous chest-burster, Ash’s milky demise, the alien itself – all look spectacular to this day.
9 Aged Badly: Dawn Of The Dead (1978)
There’s no denying that Dawn of the Dead is an influential movie. And it may very well be the greatest zombie movie ever made. But there’s also denying that the movie has aged. The movie was independently produced and made on the cheap, and it shows.
The zombies look pretty goofy today (blue/grey skin and orange blood), the acting can prove hammy, and the sound design is both cheap and distracting. It both looks and sounds like a cheap indie horror film from the ’70s.
8 Still Terrifying: Jaws (1975)
Aside from a few questionable fashion choices and some dated technology, Jaws easily passes for a 21st-century movie. Steven Spielberg is one of the greatest directors in movie history, and he knows how to make a film timeless.
Despite being nearly fifty years old, Jaws remains effective, disgusting, and horrifying. The unique filmmaking techniques still seem fresh, and perhaps most surprisingly, the mechanical shark effects haven’t aged a day.
7 Aged Badly: The Amityville Horror (1979)
Despite the “real-life story” being highly questionable and suspect, The Amityville Horror was nevertheless an effective ghost movie. But not so much anymore. It comes across as quite silly and over-the-top today, and many of its techniques have been better adopted and utilized throughout the proceeding forty years.
It was also remade in 2005 with better acting and better effects, making the 1979 original seem even more dated. It’s a decent ghost movie, but nothing more.
6 Still Terrifying: The Exorcist (1973)
The Exorcist is widely touted as the greatest horror movie ever made. And if not the greatest, then at least the most influential and popular. However, there’s no denying that the movie has aged, being fifty years old and all.
Obvious age issues aside, The Exorcist remains a remarkable–and remarkably-made–horror movie. The acting and visual effects remain impeccable, and while the initial “shock” factor has long worn off, the movie still packs enough of a punch to unsettle modern audiences.
5 Aged Badly: King Kong (1976)
King Kong has always straddled the line between adventure and horror, with the 1930s original remaining especially terrifying. King Kong may have seemed like one of those movies that are simply not “remake-able”, but a remake was indeed produced in 1976. In some respects, it looks even worse than the original.
The movie is filled with some cheap-looking sets and animatronics, and King Kong himself looks quite goofy-looking. Viewers aren’t scared of him, and they can’t become emotionally invested in his story. It’s hard to become invested in a cheap-looking gorilla suit.
4 Still Terrifying: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Despite what its reputation may suggest, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a rather subdued slasher movie. Most of the action is confined to the last fifteen minutes, and the movie remains completely bloodless. However, this only aids in the movie’s aging.
By keeping the violence and gore offscreen, the movie avoids falling prey to dated visual effects and make-up work. Leatherface also remains an exceptionally terrifying villain, even if his character was butchered in later iterations.
3 Aged Badly: Carrie (1976)
Aside from the iconic high school massacre, the original Carrie comes across as quite dated. There’s obviously the surface-level stuff, as the fashion and hairstyles are all gloriously ’70s. But it runs deeper than that.
The acting can prove quite hammy and over-the-top (especially the scenes involving Carrie’s psychotic mother, Margaret), the final grave jump scare – which was once highly effective and nightmare-inducing – looks and sounds laughable today.
2 Still Terrifying: The Last House On The Left (1972)
Wes Craven is a horror master, and he managed to make the most unsettling horror movie in history with The Last House on the Left. The movie was made for a paltry $87,000, and it shows. Far from Craven’s later, more polished works, The Last House on the Left is messy and raw.
But unlike other cheap movies from the ’70s, it is this rawness and cheapness that makes the film so effective. It looks like a genuine snuff film, and it makes the on-screen violence hard to stomach.
1 Aged Badly: The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
Despite being made five years later and having 8x the budget, Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes has aged worse than The Last House on the Left.
Whereas The Last House on the Left remained firmly rooted in dark reality, The Hills Have Eyes often veers into the silly, complete with a band of psychotic and deformed hillbillies. It tries to be “more” than The Last House on the Left, but its high concept and increased reliance on visual effects and make-up only make it seem more dated.
